The Spectacle
Artist
Jonathan Rajewski
(American, born 1986)
Date2014
MediumAcyrlic, coffee and graphite on canvas
DimensionsImage Size: 72 × 72 in. (182.9 × 182.9 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineGift of Matthew X. Roling, 2021
Object numberUAC6862
DescriptionRajewski’s 2014 work The Spectacle features graphite drawings of people wearing 3D glasses, as indicated by the lenses painted in red and blue. The figures are huddled together in a cascading format reminiscent of a movie theater. Other than the lenses, the crowd is primarily white, outlined by the graphite. By illustrating the figures in neutral colors, Rajewski encourages the viewers of the work to focus on the action of the subjects. This in turn challenges the traditional relationship between viewers and an image: People observe Rajewski’s work, but the subjects within the work are occupied with viewing something that is in the composition with them. Aside from the drawings, Rajewski covers the rest of the composition in coffee. The paint from the 3D glasses bleeds into the coffee, demonstrating how the viewers’ gaze travels to the object they are observing. While coffee may be an unconventional medium in artmaking, it is a conventional medium for bringing people together. Whether it be a work meeting, or a casual get-together with friends, a cup of coffee at a café sets a foundation for all kinds of social interactions.One activity that is often associated with coffee shops is “people watching.” Engaging in this activity entails watching what one might consider a spectacle, hence the title of Rajewski’s work. When someone is sitting alone, they may watch the other people who enter the cafe: They observe how other people carry themselves, what their coffee order is, and the types of conversations they engage in, among other things. Sometimes, one encounters people they feel they can connect with. This discovery transforms the “people watching” into active social interaction, and people who entered the coffee shop as strangers leave as friends. While you cannot actively socialize inside movie theaters, they gather people together in a similar way that a coffee shop does. One might sit in a theater with friends or family, but they are also viewing the film with a group of strangers who share a common interest in the subject matter of the movie, much like coffee shop goers share coffee as a common interest. The figures in Rajewski’s work, paired with coffee as a medium, symbolize the ways in which coffee and movies can bring human beings together, regardless of different identities.
Written by Angela Athnasios
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